Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of heart attack and stroke and a leading cause of death worldwide. Atherosclerosis starts with the development of foam cells, which are cells in blood vessels with excessive fat content. It was originally believed that white blood cells (also called macrophages) are the main cells where fat accumulates. However, our lab made the groundbreaking discovery that smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the blood vessels are the major contributors to foam cells in humans and mice, thereby changing the field's understanding of atherosclerosis progression. In addition, previous studies showed that macrophages and SMCs move towards each other in the artery wall as heart disease progresses, suggesting that interactions between these cells likely play an important role in atherosclerosis progression. In the proposed study, I will grow SMCs and macrophages together in a dish to determine how the interactions between the two cell types affect fat accumulation. I will then identify the key genes involved in macrophage or SMC foam cell development to understand what changes occur in the vessel wall as atherosclerosis progresses. Finally, I will confirm whether these genes are clinically relevant using tissue samples from explanted human hearts. Ultimately, this research will reveal how macrophages and SMCs interact during atherosclerosis progression and help identify new disease prevention targets.